The Siren & The Scholar
by Preistess Hinata
Summary: Just months before the assault on Kadessa, Damia discovers she has a long lost older sister. Syuveil finds out, and a tentative bond forms between the two. SyuxOC (Rated for later chapters, please review, Chapter 2 is up)
1. Introductions

**The Siren & The Scholar**

**Introduction**

The country of Endiness was at war. The Humans, once passive, had been driven to revolution by their oppressors, the race of Winglies. At the forefront of the Human army was Emperor Diaz, a brilliant orator and commander of the force of Gloriano.

But our story does not center on the happenings of the war, but the seven heroes who controlled Dragons to fight for the Humans' liberation, called the 'Seven Incarnations of Dragons'. Mighty warriors with devastating magic, they were Zeig, the Dragoon of Fire, strong and proud; Rose, Dragoon of Darkness, lover of Zieg; Syuveil, Dragoon of Wind, proud scholar and researcher; Damia, Dragoon of Water and the youngest of the group; Belzac, Dragoon of Earth, half-Giganto teacher; Shirley, Dragoon of Light, noble and kind, and her brother, Kanzas, Dragoon of Thunder.

Though they differed greatly, the seven Dragoons soon found themselves friends, as well as allies. This story centers mainly on two of the Dragoons, Syuveil, and Damia- who has an interesting story behind her.

Born to a mermaid and a Human man, Damia was always quite alone in the world. Her mother having died when she was nine (and her father nowhere to be found), Damia wandered for the better part of five years, until she was deemed worthy by the Blue Sea Dragon and joined the fight for Human liberation at only fifteen. The other Dragoons felt a certain protectiveness toward the forlorn girl, and became a sort of surrogate family to her. They knew she would keep no secrets from them; or at least, they _thought_ so.

**Chapter 1**

The setting sun over the towers of Vellweb, home of the Dragoons, saw the young Damia hurrying along the stone ledge toward her own tower, laden with enough food for two people. Dinner was nowhere close to being done, but the young half-mermaid had insisted on bring her dinner to her tower, as she had been doing for over a week.

His curiosity piqued by increasingly odd behavior, the scholarly Syuveil followed her at a distance. He knew she was subject to bouts of depression when near came the anniversary of her mother's death, but that had been three months ago. Until a week ago she had been fine, but something must have happened when she went to the sea. She had become more and more secretive since then; taken to staying in her room unless forced out, and was taking all her meals by herself, double portions no less.

She rounded the bend and looked shiftily all around before darting inside. Syuveil hurried over, not wanting to miss anything. He stood waiting, silent as death in the shadows by her door. At first, there was only silence, but then he heard Damia speak.

"I apologize for being late, Sister, but this time they would barely let me escape. But I managed to bring you some food."

Syuveil choked back a gasp; unable to believe that little Damia had a sister. But his thoughts were interrupted by another voice.

"Thank you, my sister. It is more than I could have asked. This is far too much food for me; I want you to have the best of it." The voice that came from the tower was older, more mature, and with an ethereal lilt that made Syuveil's head swim slightly. It was unbelievably beautiful, like a chorus of angels; it was unmistakably the voice of a Siren.

"No, Mela, I want _you_ to have the best, your journey has been hard, and besides, you are my beloved older sister. Please, have it." Damia said.

"Sister, please oblige me and take it. You have given me the greatest gift I could ask for by allowing me to stay with you; you deserve it far more than I." came once more the hypnotic voice of Damia's sister, Mela.

Thinking quickly, Syuveil backed up a few paces and called out to Damia.

"Damia! Why did you leave?" he said as he walked slowly back toward the young girl's tower. He approached the door and rapped gently.

"Sister, hide!" her heard Damia whisper urgently. There was a muffled rush. With sudden force, Damia flung open the door, smiling with feigned innocence.

"Oh, hi, Syuveil! I was alone here, just eating, all alone, with no one else around." She lied. Resisting the urge to scoff, he swallowed his exasperation and smiled back, much more naturally.

"Hello, Damia. I thought I'd join you, seeing as you rushed off so suddenly. May I come in?" He made as if to enter, but Damia barred it as best she could with her small frame.

"I really don't think that would be wise, as I have been… Sick, yes I have been sick! It really is not very pretty." She said, giving a piteous moan to further the point. Syuveil was quite impressed with her ability to think so quickly.

"Why don't you go see Shirley if you are feeling ill, surely there is nothing the White Silver Dragon cannot heal? I will take you to her now…" Damia gave a furtive look over her shoulder to where Mela sat quietly, waiting, "Unless you want to tell me what is _really_ going on?" he finished, raising an eyebrow. Damia sighed heavily.

"Alright, Syuveil, I will tell you, but _only_ if you promise not to tell a single soul!" she pleaded. Syuveil nodded, raising his right hand.

"I promise." He was not quite sure he would be able to keep that promise; if Damia was hiding a strange woman in her tower, Zeig and the others should know about it.

"Alright," Damia sighed, "Sister, you may come out."

Syuveil choked back another gasp as Mela stood. She quite resembled an older Damia, about eighteen; they shared the same slim frame, shy eyes, and graceful movement. But other than that, Mela was quite a different story. She was taller, more curvaceous, and stood with a certain defiance. Her eyes, unlike Damia's, were sparkling blue, the same shining aquamarine as her hair, which reached past her slim waist to her shapely hips, the last six inches of which were fiery red, as were the scales that framed her lovely face.

"This is my sister, Mela. She has been staying with me for the last ten days." Damia confessed, sighing deeply once more. Syuveil mentally shook himself, reeling from the appearance of the young woman.

"H-Hello." He managed to choke. She did not respond, only stared at him, her body tense, her gaze mistrustful, almost fearful. He noticed, clutched in her left hand, a long graceful dagger inset with a sparkling opal that shone like water and glowed like embers.

"Mela, this is Syuveil, he's a friend of mine." Damia said, trying to draw her sister closer to Syuveil. Mela merely looked at her sister, her eyes widened slightly in skepticism, refusing to be moved any nearer to him. Syuveil could taste the tension in the air; this woman clearly did not want to be in the same room with him.

"It's alright, Damia, I'll just come back later." He said gently, seeing how confused the young girl was by her sister's behavior. He smiled at her, and she smiled back, but when he turned to smile at Mela, her body tensed further and her eyes narrowed. Slightly bemused, he slipped quietly back to his tower.

"Mela, why did you act like that when he was in here? You did not have any trouble when Balzac came!" Damia asked distraughtly. Mela merely shook her head, her aquamarine locks flowing about her head like water.

"I do not know little sister. But I just do not trust men." The older woman said dejectedly. She had hurt and embarrassed her sister back there, and felt terribly guilty.

"Sister, you do not have to be afraid of Syuveil; he's one of the nicest people I know."

"I never said I was _afraid_ of him!" Mela snapped, suddenly angry with the whole world. Damia recoiled as if she had been struck, her ruby eyes filling with tears.

Mela felt her anger melt away, "Oh, Sister, I am sorry! I should not have said that." the Siren said, her limbs heavy with guilt. "Please do not cry, beloved sister." She gently wrapped her arms about Damia, who accepted the embrace. Wiping her eyes, Damia managed a slight smile.

"It is alright, Mela. It is my fault for being so careless about hiding you." Damia said, and Mela felt even guiltier. If she had not come here, Damia would not have had to shut herself up here away from her friends. Maybe it would be better to leave now, and cause her sister no further strife.

"And besides," Damia said, clasping her sister's hand, "you are my sister, and I would not trade anything in the world for you. Please don't feel guilty. You have brought me something greater than anything I could ask for." Mela blinked.

"What is that, sister?"

"You have brought me a family. Until we met, I didn't have anyone to called family, and now, I have you." She concluded, hugging Mela tight. Mela returned that embrace, her sapphire eyes shining happily. "Now," Damia said, releasing her sister and smiling. "Let's eat, I'm starved!"

Mela smiled as they divided up the food and began eating.

"Sister, when are you leaving for Magrad?" Mela asked after a few minutes. Damia swallowed hard, remembering that Mela would be all alone when they left.

"Next week. I wish I could bring you along… Maybe I could!" she supposed. Mela shook her head in negation.

"No. That would be too dangerous. I am happy just staying here, but promise me you'll be careful." She said, her lovely face clouded with fret.

"Do not worry; we are only going for a war meeting, no battles. But now that you mention it, you don't have anything to do while I'm gone, do you?" Damia said guiltily. Mela shook her said.

"No, but I don't need anything. I'm perfectly happy to stay here and wait." Damia scoffed lightly, wagging her finger facetiously at her elder sister.

"Don't you lie to _me_, Mela. I know you get bored when you have to wait for me." She thought for a moment, then snapped her delicate fingers in inspiration, "I know! I can ask Belzac to lend us some books for you to read!" she declared. Mela smiled.

"That's a wonderful idea! …But, unfortunately, I am not very good at reading Human characters."

"I can always ask him to teach you! I'm sure he'll be happy to!" Damia said. Mela nodded in agreement.

"That's a wonderful idea, little sister, "she said, attempting to suppress a yawn, "Let us got to sleep now, I'm tired."


	2. Visions

Alrighty, beloved readers, I have returned with the second chapter in this my first published fic! I would like to thank my **very** few readers for their support:

Despondent Dreamer: Hoorah! Thank you **so** much for the review! It is so awesome to get a review from such a great writer. BTW, I didn't mean for Mela to seem perfect, and trust me, she **isn't**. In this little chappie, we find out some of her… problems, shall we say? Yes, we shall!

Shadray: Thank you for the lovely, if slightly belligerent review! I do apologize for the delay in updating, and shall try to squeeze the rest out soon!

The night was warm and balmy, but despite her efforts, Mela could not sleep. The guilt of lying to her sister, who had so kindly taken her in, weighed heavily on her. She stood by the small window carved into the stone, the gentle night breeze sweeping across her skin. She let out a sigh. She very much loved her sister, but forcing her to enclose herself in her tower and away from her friends was something she could not allow herself to do any longer.

Sighing heavily once more, she gathered her things, making sure the elegant dagger she had brandished earlier was strapped to her slim waist. She approached the bed where Damia slept. She gazed lovingly at the young girl, her only family, and sat down. Gently stroking her sister's brow, she began to sing. It was an old lullaby taught to her by her mother. Her voice, saturated by the Siren's magic, filled the room, echoing around the whole of Vellweb.

Syuveil lay awake, hunched over a large tome. He gave a yawn, despite the fact that he had not been tired a moment before. He looked back over his shoulder; it was already dark. Before he could stop himself, he yawned again. It was not until a moment later that he heard the song coming from Damia's apartment. Sweet and soothing, but also very sad, he could feel himself growing bleary-eyed just listening. He closed the volume wearily, coughing slightly as a cloud of dust enveloped his head. A walk would clear his head, he decided. He contemplated getting his cloak, but the night air was far too still and warm for that.

It was a moment before he noticed it as he left. Something small and blue, just darting out of Damia's door. He followed, his natural curiosity prevailing over his better judgment. T'was not long before he caught up to the scurrying form of Damia's older sister, Mela, a dagger resting at her side, and a pack slung over her delicate shoulders.

'Running away,' he thought gravely, still hidden in shadows. He, of course, knew Vellweb like the back of his hand, and swung around a different stair to cut her off.

"Is it not a bit late for a stroll?" He inquired politely as she was about to pass him. She gave no response save to halt in her tracks, her hand subconsciously falling to her dagger. "May I inquire as to where you are going with that pack?" he continued, "I do hope you aren't trying leaving your sister all alone?"

Still, she said nothing, her eyes widened in evident fear of him. He felt himself soften; she might have looked, at first glance like a grown woman, but the look in her soft ocean blue eyes betrayed the fact that she was a confused girl. He took a step toward her, smiling in what he hoped was a gentle and reassuring way. Narrowing her eyes, she backed away. But before she could get far, a wayward tree root caught her ankle, and she began to fall. Syuveil caught her expertly just as she did, feeling the softness of her skin. They looked at each other for a moment before she let out a scream.

"Don't touch me!" she yelped, jumping away from him with an agility that surprised him almost as much as her outburst.

"I-I'm sorry," he stammered, taking another step toward her trembling form, "Let me help you up." This time she did not try to move away, she simply sat there, her eyes unfocused, bright with tears.

"Don't t-touch me," she mumbled, even though he wasn't, "Please.. please, don't touch me… Stop, no, please. Don't hurt me, please." She was still staring at him, but her eyes saw a completely different scene.

Even after four years, she could remember what happened with appalling clarity. Even now, she could feel cold spidery fingers skimming across her skin. The way her own blood trickling down her side from where his knife had pierced her. And then the greatest pain she had ever felt as the man with the black eyes forced himself on her; the terrible humiliation after he got up, leaving her, half-naked, bleeding and crying, to pick herself up.

And, then, with shocking speed, she was back in Vellweb; warm, benevolent green eyes gazing down on her.

"Are you alright?" came the voice belonging to those eyes, laced with concern. She nodded dumbly as she sat herself up. Her whole body felt numb.

"You should go back to Damia while she still sleeps." Syuveil said. Once more, she nodded, attempting to stand. She swayed slightly, but was able to right herself as she walked back to the gate. Just before disappearing into the shadows, she turned to him.

"Thank you," she said solemnly.

**A/N: **Yay! How did you like, my lovelies? I hope it wasn't too graphic… Oh, well! Please review!


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